


A Starlight Reward

by Remasa



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Female Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Fluff, Garlean Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:21:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28529874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Remasa/pseuds/Remasa
Summary: The Warrior of Light attends a Starlight Celebration party alone, but when she sees other couples together, she realizes her heart yearns for one person in particular.  Yet he is no where to be found.
Relationships: Warrior of Light/Thancred Waters
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	A Starlight Reward

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aryalaenkha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aryalaenkha/gifts).



_A Starlight Reward_

As the snow settled around her, Aria nan Laesca suppressed a shudder. Oh, it wasn't the cold itself that bothered her, but rather the fact that it was _magical_ snow. Growing up in Garlemald, she never quite managed to feel fully comfortable around blatant displays of arcane magic. Technology and tools were her friends. They were familiar and comfortable and logical. She could figure magitek out. When something broke, there was a reason. A reason she could suss out. A reason she could fix.

When aether manipulation went awry, few could tell why.

“Aria!”

The shout snapped her out of her spell, and she blinked. One of her friends waved to her from around the campfire. “Come join us,” she called out. When Aria hesitated, her friend rolled her eyes and motioned again. “Yes, you. Get over here.”

Knowing she wouldn't be left alone until she complied, Aria headed over to the fire, her steps small and uncertain, as if the slightest glare would send her scurrying back away from the yard. As she reached the flames, someone else thrust a mug into her hands. She sniffed. Hot chocolate. Her favorite. Despite her unease at being around so many people, her lips twitched upwards. Magical or not, the snow was still cold, and the fire warm and enticing.

She sat down on a wooden bench draped with thick furs. “Thank you for the invitation, Onyrica,” she said.

Her friend waved behind her to a man walking around with a platter of food. “Of course, Aria. This party is for all of my friends. Last I checked, that included you.”

Aria lifted the mug to her lips to give herself an excuse to not answer. It still felt weird to her to be accepted by these Eorzeans – by the Scions – when all she had done was bring them heartache in her past. She sipped the drink, allowing it to warm her as much as the genuine friendships around her. Onyrica plucked off two apple strudels from the tray the man held and offered one to her. She accepted with a smile and murmur of thanks. She was feeling a bit self conscious at this point, so she was glad when Onyrica turned to another in the circle and engaged them in conversation. It allowed her to relax, sipping her hot chocolate and eating her strudel and taking in the party around her.

Two musicians stood on a platform high above the crowd, serenading them with different melodies. Some of the songs she recognized from years past, and realized they must be classics for the season. Behind her, a snowball fight broke out among a few people as they scooped up the half-melted snow and pelted each other, diving in between igloos and snowmen for cover. After a long day delivering presents to the children in Gridania, it felt good to rest her feet and simply observe the fun. The uncomfortable feeling that she didn't belong faded with each warm sip of her drink, and each burst of laughter from the group brought a tiny smile to her face. Someone whisked away her empty mug and she waved away a new one. She leaned back on her arms. The fire roared in front of her. For the first time in a long while, she felt at peace.

After a while, the crowd began to thin as revelers started to trickle out. Onyrica had vanished inside the house and she noticed that several of the Scions that had arrived earlier had also disappeared. Not that she was looking or anything. If she happened to notice that Thancred was chatting up several other ladies around the yard, it was merely coincidence that her eyes landed on him each time she turned her head. As if on cue, her eyes swept around the yard again, only this time she didn't spy the familiar white hair anywhere. She swallowed past the lump in her throat. Her stomach churned with unease. She tried to tell herself it was the excitement of the party, but deep down knew that was a lie.

Aria stood up from the bench. There were only a handful of people remaining, anyway, and most of those were pairing off together. Though the hour grew late and she doubted that any children were awake, she could still take a walk around to enjoy the sights of Starlight. The palpable excitement of the children was fun to see, but she couldn't deny the serenity of walking around alone in a slumbering city.

The sound of a throat clearing snapped her out of her musings. Thancred pushed himself off a street lamp, holding two mugs in his hands. His lips were upturned into the familiar rakish smile that never failed to cause her heart to skip a beat. But she noticed the smile didn't reach his eyes.

“Leaving so soon?” he asked as he made his way over to her.

She shrugged. “The party was winding down.”

He glanced back up the stairs leading to the yard and nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face. Aria didn't know what to make of it. He turned back to her. “Well,” he said, “you appeared to be enjoying yourself.”

Was he watching her? “I was,” she admitted. “It was good to reconnect with many faces I hadn't seen in a long while.”

“Agreed.”

Aria couldn't help but wonder how many faces Thancred reconnected with that evening. “I'm surprised to find you out here,” she said, hoping to derail her mind from going down that line of thought. “Last I saw you had an entire crowd mesmerized with your silver tongue.”

A delighted grin appeared. “Aria nan Laesca,” he practically purred, “were you _watching_ me?”

Hold on, that was _her_ line! How dare he use it against her! “I was watching _everyone_ ,” she clarified.

The grin didn't fade. In fact, it only widened as Thancred stepped closer. “Oh?” he said. “Watching everyone? Then you surely noticed how Urianger had a whole line of people waiting for him to read their fortunes? How Alisaie challenged anyone who would listen to a snowball fight? I'm certain you must have seen Y'shtola helping out by enchanting the food trays to float among the people all by themselves.”

She hadn't seen any of that, if she was being honest. Though she kind of wished she had seen Y'shtola's magical trays. “Of course,” she said. She would never admit otherwise to Thancred.

“Really?” he drawled, stepping closer again until he was close enough to lean over and whisper into her ear. “Because none of that actually happened.”

She stepped back with a gasp, her eyes landing upon his satisfied smug expression. She swallowed hard, frantically trying to come up with an excuse.

Thancred wouldn't let her. “It appears you only had eyes for me,” he continued. The grin faded, replaced with a seriousness that was so out of place on him that it was almost comical to behold. His eyes darkened as they bored into her. “In fact, I was hoping maybe I would get the chance to talk to you alone.”

Her throat felt dry. She licked her lips, noting the way Thancred's eyes were drawn to the movement. “Why did you want to talk to me alone?” she asked.

“I wanted to ask if you would like to accompany me on a walk to admire all the Starlight decorations.” He held out one of the mugs. “I know you enjoy hot chocolate.”

She swallowed again. “Are you asking me....” she trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. She tried to stamp down the blossoming hope welling up inside her. What if she was misreading his intentions?

“On a date?” Thancred finished. He gazed into her eyes. “Yes. That's exactly what I'm doing.”

She stared down at the proffered mug. With a smile, she reached out and took it from him, looping one arm around his. “I would love to,” she replied.

As they walked down the colorfully lit path into the heart of the city, with Thancred allowing her to lead and guide him around, the stars twinkled above in the night sky and the magical snow continued to fall, Aria added one more reason to her list of why she loved the Starlight Celebration.

_The End_

**Author's Note:**

> Special thank you to [PerditaAlottachocolate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerditaAlottachocolate) for beta-reading.
> 
> This was written as a reward to Aria nan Laesca as one of the winning prizes for attending Onyrica's Wanderer's Art Party. Thank you for attending and participating, Aria! I hope you enjoy this story.


End file.
